User:Yerevantsi/sandbox/Azeri clans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clans in Azerbaijan have dominated the political scene in the country since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.[1]
The role of clans in Azerbaijan has been a constant source of debates in the academic literature for the last 20 years. For some, the clan in Azerbaijan is a fantasy constructed by researchers to understand networks based on shared interests and sometimes kinships (Alievaand Torjesen 2007; Andvig 1999). For others, taking into account the clan is essential tounderstand the Azerbaijani society and the dynamics of Azerbaijani politics (Avioutskii2007). In this debate, several points have to be recalled.[2]
According to the Transparency International, Azerbaijan is one of the most currupt countries in the world (139 of 176 in the Corruption Perceptions Index).[3]
The constants in the struggle for political power in modern Azerbaijan are connected, in many cases, with one of a number of regionally associated networks, often referred to as "clans." [4]
The political and economic system in Azerbaijan is largely based on a pyramidal web of patronage. Clans, mainly based on regional origin as well as the ruling elite, keep the system intact to secure their financial and power interests. [1]
Writing in the Harvard International Review in 2011 Alec Rasizade suggested that "Modern Azerbaijan is a typical Middle-Eastern petrostate ruled by a classical Middle-Eastern despotia, where political (and economic) power is concentrated and inherited within the ruling family."[5]
- "Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf?" (PDF). Crisis Group Europe Report N°156. International Crisis Group. 12 May 2004. p. i. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
Its government is a carefully designed autocratic system, which the father and former Soviet-era politburo member began to construct in the late 1960s, with heavy reliance on family and clan members, oil revenues and patronage.